© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 1 Richard T. Schaefer

Slide 2 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Groups and Organizations Understanding Groups Understanding Organizations The Changing Workplace Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions WorldwideSocial Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions Worldwide 6

Slide 3 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. A Look Ahead █ Do we behave differently in large groups than in small ones? █ How do we make large organizations manageable? █ What effect are current social changes having on the structure of groups?

Slide 4 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Groups █ Group: any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact regularly –Primary group: small group with intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation –Secondary group: formal, impersonal groups with little social intimacy or mutual understanding

Slide 5 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Groups █ In-groups and Out-Groups –In-groups: any groups or categories to which people feel they belong –Out-groups: any groups or categories to which people feel they do not belong Conflict between in-groups and out-groups can turn violent on a personal as well as political level

Slide 6 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Groups –Reference group: any group that individuals use as standard for evaluating their own behavior Reference groups set and enforce standards of conduct and belief Often two or more reference groups influence us at the same time Coalitions: temporary or permanent alliances geared toward common goal

Slide 7 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 6-1: Comparison of Primary and Secondary Groups

Slide 8 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Studying Small Groups █ Small group: group small enough for all members to interact simultaneously █ Size of a Group –Dyad: a two-member group –Triad: a three-member group Smaller groups have greater interaction opportunities

Slide 9 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Studying Small Groups █ Groupthink: collective pressure to conform to predominant line of thought –High-level government leaders and advisers prone to groupthink –Outside facilitators can help avoid groupthink

Slide 10 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research in Action █ 6-1: The Drinking Rape Victim: Jury Decision Making –Have you ever served on a jury? Were you aware of jurors who made up their minds early in the trial, despite the judge’s instructions? –Is a jury a typical small group?

Slide 11 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies █ Formal organization: group designed for a special-purpose and structured for maximum efficiency –In U.S., formal organizations fulfill enormous variety of personal and societal needs –Ascribed statuses can influence how we see ourselves within formal organizations

Slide 12 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Bureaucracy: component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency █ Ideal type bureaucracy: (Weber) construct or model for evaluating specific cases Weber emphasized basic similarity of structure and process found in dissimilar enterprises

Slide 13 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Ideal type bureaucracy 1.Division of labor 2.Hierarchy of authority 3.Written rules and regulations 4.Impersonality 5.Employment based on technical qualifications

Slide 14 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Division of labor –Specialized experts perform specific tasks Fragmentation of work can remove connection workers have to overall objective of the bureaucracy –Alienation: condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society –Trained incapacity: workers become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems

Slide 15 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Hierarchy of Authority –Each position under supervision of higher authority █ Written rules and regulations –Rules and regulations ensure uniform performance of every task –Provide continuity Goal displacement: overzealous conformity to official regulations

Slide 16 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Impersonality –Bureaucratic norms dictate that officials perform duties without personal consideration to people as individuals

Slide 17 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Employment based on technical qualifications –Peter Principle: every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence (Peter and Jull 1969) –Bureaucracy pervades modern life

Slide 18 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 6-2: Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

Slide 19 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy █ Bureaucratization as Process –Bureaucratization: process by which group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic Can take place within small group settings █ Oligarchy: Rule by a Few –Iron Law of Oligarchy: even democratic organizations eventually develops into bureaucracies ruled by a few

Slide 20 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture █ Classical theory: (also known as scientific management approach) Workers motivated mostly by economic rewards █ Human relations approach: Role of people, communication, and participation within a bureaucracy emphasized

Slide 21 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sociology in the Global Community █ 6-2: McDonald’s and the Worldwide Bureaucratization of Society –What features of these restaurants do you appreciate? Do you have any complaints about them? –Analyze life at your college using Weber’s model of bureaucracy. What elements of McDonaldization do you see?

Slide 22 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Organizational Restructuring █ Formal organizations experimenting with new ways of getting the job done since late 20th century –Collective decision making –Minimal hierarchy –Project teams and task forces –Increased reliance on outside providers –Facilitated communication between those at the very top and the very bottom of hierarchies

Slide 23 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Postmodern Job █ Telecommuters: employees who work full- or part-time at home rather than in an outside office –Number of telecommuters increased from 8.5 million in 1995 to 40 million in 2008

Slide 24 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Electronic Communication █ efficient, rapidly communicated, and democratic –Does not convey body language, leave a permanent record, and can be monitored █ Electronic communication contributes significantly to fragmentation of work

Slide 25 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 6-3: Telecommuting: Pros and Cons

Slide 26 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The State of the Unions █ Looking at the Issue –What has happened to diminish the importance of organized labor unions? Membership dropped from 39% of private sector workers in 1954 to 11.9% in 2010 –Have unions perhaps outlived their usefulness in a rapidly changing global economy dominated by the service industry?

Slide 27 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The State of the Unions █ Looking at the Issue –Labor unions: organized workers who share either the same skill or the same employer Power of labor unions vary from country to country –Membership declining Changes in industry Growth in part-time jobs Legal system Globalization Employer offensives/union rigidity/bureaucratization

Slide 28 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The State of the Unions █ Applying Sociology –Marxists/functionalists view unions as logical response to emergence of impersonal, large-scale, formal, and often alienating organizations –Conflict theorists note the longer union leaders are in office the less responsive they are to the needs and demands of rank and file –Many union employees have role conflict

Slide 29 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The State of the Unions █ Initiating Policy –U.S. unique in allowing employers to actively oppose employee’s right to organize State and local governments across U.S. facing significant budget deficits In Europe, labor unions tend to play major role in political elections The form and substance of unions varies from country to country

Slide 30 © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 6-2: Labor Union Membership Worldwide Note: Recent data from 2008–2010, except for Sweden and the Netherlands (2007). Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011; New Unionism Network 2011; Visser 2006:45.